From news.gov.scot today:
‘An investment of over £5million will bolster the work of one of Europe’s most cutting-edge research and innovation facilities. The funding from the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise will support the second phase of work of the Fraunhofer Centre for Applied Photonics (FhCAP) in Glasgow. The non-profit centre specialises in photonics, or laser technology, and FhCAP is the innovation catalyst at the core of Scotland’s £740m-a-year photonics community.’
https://news.gov.scot/news/innovation-investment
This is another in a series of Scottish Government initiatives to promote and support the Scottish economy. Much of this goes un-reported by our media. Here are some earlier examples reported here in the last year or so:
Scottish Government to spend £600 million on Superfast broadband for rural areas
Actually, these are from only the last three months. If you have time to read more, search the blog for ‘Government’ and you’ll get dozens more.
Talking-up Scotland 
“Fraunhofer”! Now there is a name that has pinged a memory chord! Named after Joseph von Fraunhofer, who was not actually involved in the specific research regarding diffraction of waves, I can recall doing my lab experiments with diffraction gratings in the 1960s ……. and I think I understood it, too, at the time!
Such symbiosis between research, development and commerce is to be valued and, because most investors are too risk averse it is mainly public money that supports things like this. Despite the mendacious ‘axiom’ to the contrary, GOVERNMENTS CAN SPOT WINNERS! What the rapacious capitalists want is for the government, having invested money in the education of the researchers and also funded the experimentation and brought it to a production stage, is to FUCK OFF AND LET US CREAM OFF THE PROFITS. Gordon Brown called this ‘light touch regulation’.
Alistair Darling is now in the Lords and on the board of at least one financial institution. Perhaps that is a non-sequitur.
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Excellent piece of ‘day job’ work by the SNP Scottish Govt finding seed corn investment monies for future national benefits as the photonics/laser technology field continues to develop.
Photonics or laser technology are not required to see the kind of repulsive renegade troops The Colonel has been busy recruiting when one sees what amendments they are putting up in our Scottish Parliament: (from Common Space):
SCOTTISH CONSERVATIVE MSP Jeremy Balfour faces criticism over what has been branded a “disgusting proposal” to review the eligibility of terminally-ill people for benefits if they are still alive after three years.
The Lothian MSP has made a quick reversal of his position following a backlash over the proposed amendment, which was published in advance of the
social security committee’s stage 2 hearing of evidence on the Social Security Bill on Thursday.
Balfour, who was elected in 2016, has previously faced criticism over remarks made in opposition to same-sex marriage and adoption, and sparked controversy when it was revealed that he had been on the board of a think tank when it published a report which suggested that it was immoral for rape victims to use the morning-after pill.
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